Army hospital in Kuwait prepares for biological, chemical
attack
The Jerusalem Post

13 March 2003

CAMP UDAIRI, Kuwait - A high-tech system of air filters working in a series
of tents is the pride of a new U.S. Army combat hospital designed to protect
staff and patients from chemical attack.

Known as the "bubble," the filtering system works like a giant gas
mask to keep out air polluted by a chemical or biological attack.

"We probably have the cleanest air in this part of the world, and it's
probably cleaner than the air we have back at home," said Col. Harry Warren,
45, an orthopedic surgeon who is the commander of the hospital.

The "bubble" bears no resemblance to its round, clear namesake. It
is actually a complex system of air filters that function in a series of tents
that are airtight. It is controlled by what looks like an air conditioner unit
on the outside.

The filters clean the air of agents that would be released in a chemical attack
and create a pristine environment for the staff and patients.

The hospital and its bubble look like any ordinary series of dark green Army
tents on a three-acre (1.2-hectare) plot of sand.

But inside, you leave the desert behind. Artificial light radiates along the
windowless pea green walls, illuminating medical instruments. A narrow hallway
leads soldiers through a maze of rooms such as the lab, the operating rooms
and intensive care unit.

About 20 casualties an hour can be decontaminated in a special area before
being pushed on stretchers into the hospital. Others can walk in through a separate
decontamination area.

The hospital is run by the 86th Combat Support Hospital - a unit from the 101st
Airborne Division. It has been deployed to Kosovo and Uzbekistan, where it treated
casualties flown in from Afghanistan.

An advance team deployed in January to set up the hospital.

So far, 24 surgeries have been performed. Two were done on soldiers who received
gunshot wounds during live fire exercises. Almost 3,000 others have been treated.

It takes a week to set up the hospital if the bubble is used or about three
days without it. Parts of the hospital can also be moved within hours to establish
an austere field operating room reminiscent of those seen on the television
series M*A*S*H.

Staff members have been trained extensively on what to do in the event an unconventional
weapon - such as a nerve agent - is used, said Staff Sgt. John Perdue, a respiratory
therapist.

On Tuesday, workers conducted a drill treating patients while wearing gas masks
- something they would be required to do the first hour after a biological or
chemical attack, before all the bad air has been filtered out.

"We can deal with that," Perdue said of chemical attack. "Of
course, we don't want to deal with that, but I'm confident all of our soldiers
can perform to the task and take care of our casualties."